Population and urbanisation, Year 11: a fast-developing country

secondary

HintThe sector that makes things.

The whyA country's industrial structure is the balance between its sectors. As factories open, the primary share of jobs falls and the share in making goods rises. Later, as incomes grow, services expand. In some NEEs services have grown even faster than manufacturing: check the figures for your own case study.

Workers and companies pay more tax

HintThink about what is taken from a wage packet and from profits.

The whyFactory jobs are usually more regular and better paid than work on a small farm. As more people earn steady wages and firms make profits, the government collects more revenue, which can pay for schools, hospitals, roads and power. These in turn attract more industry.

regionally

HintThe scale between one nation and the whole world.

The whyImportance at this scale might mean having the largest economy or population in its part of the continent, or being a leader in a group of neighbouring states. Importance at the world scale might mean its share of world trade or population, or its role in international organisations. Learn at least one fact for each scale for your own country.

social

HintIt is about people's health, education and well-being.

The whyAQA asks for four kinds of background. Political covers the type of government and how stable it is. Cultural covers languages, religions, food, film and traditions. Environmental covers climate, landscapes and ecosystems. The remaining kind covers how well people live.

Wages are a large part of their costs, so cheap labour makes the goods cheaper

HintThink about the biggest bill a sewing factory has to pay.

The whyIndustries like this are called labour-intensive. They give a country a way into manufacturing without needing expensive machinery or highly trained staff. As wages and skills rise, the country can move into higher-value goods such as electronics and vehicles.

A transnational corporation (TNC)

HintIts name means 'across borders'.

The whyMany of the world's best-known makers of cars, phones, clothing, food and drink are companies of this kind. They locate each part of the business wherever it is cheapest or most convenient. Your case study needs one that operates in your chosen country, and what it has done for and to that country.

headquarters; factories

HintOne blank is where the directors sit; the other is where the goods are made.

The whyDecisions, research and design, the best-paid work, tend to stay in the home country, which is usually a higher income country. Manufacturing goes where wages, land and taxes cost less. So the host country gains jobs, but often not the most skilled or best-paid ones.

New skills and training

HintWhat they carry away in their heads.

The whyA TNC brings modern equipment and working methods, and trains local staff to use them. Those people can later set up their own firms or work for local companies. Together with jobs, tax income and better roads and ports, this is one of the main advantages to the host country.

They can lose their jobs suddenly

HintThe factory gates close.

The whyBecause it operates in many countries, a TNC is not tied to any one of them. If wages rise or another government offers lower taxes, it may close a factory and open elsewhere. A region that depends on a single large employer is especially exposed.

The host country's laws are less strict, or less strongly enforced

HintThink about who writes the rules for a workplace, and who inspects it.

The whySome governments keep regulations light, or do not have enough inspectors, partly to attract investment. The result can be low pay, long shifts, unsafe buildings and pollution. Pressure from customers and campaigners has pushed many companies to publish and check standards for their suppliers.

Tied aid

HintIt comes with strings attached.

The whyThe donor's own companies win the contracts, so part of the money returns home, and the receiving country may pay more than it would on the open market. Aid with no such condition is called untied.

bilateral

HintThe prefix means 'two'.

The whyAid can travel by three routes. One government can give straight to another. Several governments can pay into an international organisation, which then decides where the money goes. Or charities can raise money from the public and run projects themselves; this is called voluntary aid.

Multilateral aid

HintThe prefix means 'many'.

The whyBecause the organisation decides, no single donor controls the spending, so this type is less likely to come with conditions that favour one donor's companies. It also lets small donors contribute to very large projects.

The country becomes dependent on aid instead of building its own economy

HintThink about what happens when the donor stops giving.

The whyAid has clear benefits: vaccines, clean water, schools and roads save lives and help growth. Its critics point to this risk, to money lost through corruption, and to projects that suit the donor more than local people. For your own case study, be ready to give one benefit and one problem.

manufactured

HintMade in a factory.

The whyThis is the main way a country's trading relationship with the world changes. It sells higher-value products, trades with more countries, and may join groups of countries that agree to trade more freely with each other. Its political influence usually grows with its economy.

air; water

HintOne blank is what people breathe; the other is what they drink.

The whyFast-growing economies burn more fossil fuels for power, industry and transport, and their cities can grow faster than sewers and treatment works are built. Pollution laws often come later, or are weakly enforced at first. Both kinds of pollution damage health as well as ecosystems.

It widens

HintPicture two lines on a graph moving apart.

The whyA rising average income does not mean everyone is better off. Growth is often concentrated in a few cities and industries, while remote rural areas change slowly. When you write about quality of life in your case study, say who has gained and who has been left behind.

Quality of life

HintA wider idea than money alone.

The whyStandard of living is about money and what it buys. This wider idea adds things money does not measure directly, such as clean air, free time, safety and having a say. Economic development usually raises incomes, but polluted air or long working hours can make everyday living worse.

It destroys their habitats, so biodiversity falls

HintThink about where the animals and plants used to live.

The whyRapid development needs land, timber, minerals and energy. Forests and wetlands are often the places cleared, and they hold the greatest variety of species. Damage of this kind is hard to reverse, which is why it is weighed against the gains in jobs and income.

The infant mortality rate

HintIt counts deaths in the first year after birth.

The whyClean water and basic health care prevent the infections that kill very young children, so fewer babies die. The other measure moves the opposite way: people live longer. A good case-study answer uses changes in measures like these as evidence that quality of life has improved.